I am a Democrat, so it might seem strange for me to be concerned about the future of the Republican Party in Albany — but such is the case. Though the Republican Party is dominant here and in many Upstate areas — as a statewide political force, it is in decline. Today, the Republican ...

How lousy does public policy have to be for a state to lose population six years in a row? Illinois is finding out. Connecticut, too. More deaths, fewer births, fleets of fleeing moving vans, insufficient migrants from abroad and other states — the Lands of Lincoln and Steady Habits are ...

The James Prendergast is one of my top two favorite libraries in the county, alongside Westfield’s historic Patterson. As a child, I loved picking out books and reading them in a small orange chair in the tidy, bright children’s room. The Prendergast is where I fell in love with ...

A unique event in regulatory science just happened. One that could only have occurred in the rock ’em, sock ’em Trump era. An Environmental Protection Agency science advisory panel informed the EPA administrator that 25 years and $600 million worth of the science underpinning the ...

I take a sort of perverse glee listening to New York State Republicans, especially notorious Trump lackey, Tom Reed, whining about “one-party rule” in New York State. Mr. Reed, if you are reading, please run for governor in 2022. I almost felt bad seeing Republican Legislators ...

Having attended the recent public hearing on December 30, 2019, regarding the annexation of the Dow Street Substation that is in the Town of Ellicott, Village of Falconer, and Falconer Central School District into the City of Jamestown, I heard nothing compelling me to agree to the annexation ...

It has been engrained in us that once our kids go away to college, they probably aren’t coming back. There is more glitz and glitter in other places… New York, Chicago and LA come to mind. There are jobs in other places. It is a big country and young people want to see it. There are a lot ...

Victimhood! That’s the message Jamestown’s superintendent of schools gives to students, parents, and the community. Are you a member of the 70 percent poverty level he cites? According to Superintendent Apthorpe, that automatically makes you a member of the victim class! On free or ...

There have been three successful Presidential impeachments undertaken by the House of Representatives during the history of our country. Thus far, there have been no convictions in the U.S. Senate. In two impeachments, the political party in the House was in the hands of the opposition. ...

I am always skeptical of formal New Year’s resolutions. Lose 40 pounds by June. Stop pressing the “snooze” button in the morning. No more drinking alcohol. The problem, in my experience, with concrete goals like these is that they can cause a lot of stress. If we fall short there’s a ...

The State Senate GOP is suffering from a serious brain drain. The recent announcements that State Senators Joe Robach and Richard Funke will join half a dozen other republicans in retirement are a challenge to the powers of the upstate delegation. However, new faces that reflect the makeup ...

Americans care about assisting the less fortunate, and over 100 government programs carry out this task. Americans care about assisting the less fortunate, and over 100 government programs carry out this task. A closer examination, however, reveals that much of this funding goes to other ...

I am not a big promoter of a lot of new legislation. When I was in Albany, I came of the view that, too often, legislators put in new bills when solutions to problems could often be settled by laws that are already on the books. I am beginning to think; however, that in Washington we need ...

Most Americans like private health insurance. Fifty-six percent of voters oppose Medicare for All if it eliminates private coverage. Many moderate lawmakers are well aware of these polling figures. So they’re calling for an expanded version of Medicare — or the creation of a new ...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) just announced a historic milestone that received remarkably little attention: In September, the United States exported more petroleum products than it imported. It was “the first month this has happened since monthly records began in ...

The current debate between Trumpian capitalism and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez socialism is unhelpful, if for no other reason than that the words are used as political bludgeons to shut down opponents instead of fostering real discussion. Capitalism and socialism also sound elite and distant, ...

The adults in Germany in 1935 were surprised at how many of their children joined the Hitler Jugend - over half of all youth under 18 years old became enthusiastic members of the volunteer (until 1939) organization. “Whoever has the youth has the future,” Hitler had written. And perhaps ...

Breaking news: The Buffalo Bills have earned a spot in the NFL playoffs. Upon returning to Buffalo at roughly 2 in the morning the team was met with hundreds of hysterical fans packed behind a gate to congratulate them. Josh Allen took a selfie with the group which now hangs in the Albright ...

Each year at about this time, a good friend says to me: “It won’t be long before the days start getting longer!” She, like me, doesn’t like the long nights of winter and can’t wait until the Winter Solstice has passed. It is not the weather so much that I dislike about this ...

We applaud the intent behind New York State’s bail reform initiatives, addressing long-standing racial and economic inequities in the criminal justice system. Reforms are long overdue and critically necessary. However, they need to be approached strategically and consider potential ...